1. Field
Example embodiments relate to methods of fabricating graphene using an alloy catalyst layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Graphene is a monolayer structure of carbon in which carbon atoms are in a chemically stable hexagonal (honeycomb) crystal lattice. The electrical characteristics of graphene are semi-metallic because the conduction band and valance band thereof overlap only at a Dirac point. The electron transport mechanism of graphene is ballistic and an effective mass of electrons is 0. Accordingly, graphene may be used as a channel having very high electron mobility in order to fabricate field effect transistors. An electric current of 108 A/cm2 that is 100 times greater than the largest current density of copper (Cu) may flow in graphene. Because a monolayer of graphene has a visible ray absorption level of about 2% a graphene layer is transparent. In addition, graphene is considered to be a stiff material in view of its Young's modulus of about 1 Pa.
Due to the above physical, optical, and mechanical characteristics of graphene, graphene may be applied in various fields. In order to widely utilize graphene, a simple manufacturing process for large area graphene monolayers having a low and/or decreased number of defects is required.
Recently, graphene has been manufactured by depositing a graphene layer on a catalyst metal such as nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), or platinum (Pt) using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. However, in this method, graphene and graphite are mixed during the fabrication process and it is difficult to synthesize a uniform graphene monolayer.